Automatic speed and station indicator



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

F. A SCHMIDT. AUTOMATIC SPEED AND STATION INDICATOR. No. 344,993.Patented July 6, 1886.

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V o o 0 J m/ 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

F. A. SCHMIDT. AUTOMATIC SPEED AND STATION INDICATOR.

avwamfoz Patented July .6, 1886.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRED AUG. SCHMIDT, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

AUTOMATIC SPEED AND STATION. lNDlCATOR.

sraorrrcsrron part of Letters Patent No. 344,993. dated July 6, 1886.

(No model.)

To aZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRED Ace. SCHMIDT, a citizen of the United States,residing at Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State ofMinnesota, have invented anew and useful Improvement in Automatic Streetor Station and Speed Indicators, of which the following is aspecification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to improvements in automatic street or station andspeed indicators; and it consists of the peculiar and novel constructionand combination of parts, substantially as hereinafter fully set forth,and specifically pointed out in the claims.

The objects of my invention are to provide a device of the class namedwhich can be applied to street or other railway cars to automaticallyindicate the name or number of the streets in a town or city which thecar is ap preaching or passing by, or the name of a station or citywhich a steanrrailway ear is approachin g or passing; to provide meanswhereby the speed of a train or car can be ascertainedor reckoned; toprovide means whereby the device can be readily applied to anddisconnected from a car and the axle thereof, and to provide a devicewhich shall be simple, strong, and durable in construction,t-horoughlyeffective and reliable in operation, and comparatively cheap ofmanufacture.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a vertical sectional viewtaken through the longitudinal axis of a street or horse railway car,showing my improved apparatus in side elevation. Fig. 2 is a similarsectional view through a car of the same class and taken at right anglesto Fig. 1, showing my invention in front elevation. Fig. 3 is a verticalsectional view through the indicator on the line ac 0c of Fig. 4. Fig. 4is a similar view on the line g y of Fig. 3. Figs. 5, 6, and 7 areonlarged detail views of parts of my improve ments.

Referring to the drawings, in which like letters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the figures, A designates the inclosing caseor shell of myimproved indicator, that is adapted to. be applied to ahorse or steam railway car and at any point within the body thereof. Inthe drawings I haveshown the indicator located at one end ofastreetrailway car; but it is obvious that it can be located orsupported at any other desirable point.

The inclosing-case is preferably rectangular in form, and is providedwith vertically-dis posed supporting plates or standards 13, that aresuitably secured to the inclosing-walls of the case by screws or bolts.Near its lower end the inclosing-case is provided withvertically-disposed parallel bearings O, which are provided with angularfeet having perforations for the passage of screws or bolts, to securethe bearings to the case. The bearings are arranged parallel and at somedistance apart, and they are each provided with an opening, 0, in whichopenings are journaled a horizontally-disposed cylinder or roller, D.This roller or cylinder is provided at one end with an annular flange orenlargement, d, that bears against one of the outer faces of one of thebearings G, to prevent longitudinal play of the cylinder or roller inone direction, and at its other end the cylinder has a removable ring,(1, that is rigidly held thereon and bears against the outer verticalface of the other hearing, to prevent movementof the cylinder in theother direction, while at the same time it permits the cylinder to beremoved from the bearings when it is desired to repair the same.

Between the bearings O the cylinder or roller has a worm-gear, (7?, onits periphery, and at one of its ends it is further provided with acranlrpin, D, for causing the cylinder to be rotated by motiontransmitted from one of the axles of a car, suit-able intermediatemechanism being provided for the latter purpose, which will be fullydescribed hereinafter.

E, F, and G designate gcauwheels, which are geared together and rotatedby motion from the revoluble worm cylinder or shaft, the gear-wheelsbeing arranged one above the other. Each gear-wheel is rigidly affixedon a shaft, h, that is journaled at its ends in the vertically-disposedparallel supporting plates or standards '13, and each shaft 7:, exceptthe upper one, carries a fixed pinion, h.

The gear-wheel E meshes with the teeth formed on the rotating shaft orcylinder D, the gear-wheel. F meshes with the pinion on the shaft of thewheel E, and the gear-wheel G in turn meshes with the pinion on theshaft of the wheel F; and when the worm shaft or per hour.

cylinder D is rotated by motion from the axle the entire train ofgearing above described is rotated for the purpose of indicating thespeed of the car and a-station or street which the car is approaching orpassing.

The gear-wheel E has its shaft extended; through the front wall of theinclosing-case, and is provided with an index hand or pointer, E, (shownin dotted lines in Fig. 4,) which moves around or over a dial, 0, thatis permanently attached to the case A. This dial is marked ofl intothirty equal parts or divisions, and is for the purpose of indicatingthe speed of a :train or car, the gear-wheel and cylinder being properlyproportioned :to the .(liameter of the car-wheel from the axle of which(the; devices derive their motion. The .n umber of i -:teethof zthegear-wheel E .is ,ipre'feralily pro-f petitioned it) the car-wheel sothat one .revo-l iln-tifon of the said gear-wheel indicates that! the:car has traveled one-eighth (i) of :a mile, and when :the gear-wheelrevolves eight {times ;I it indicates it/hflt {the car has traveled :amile.

To illustrateltiheadaptationof myinnention, Lhaveappendedheretoztheiolllo-wingjapproximate proportion (of parts; but it williheam-f derstoodthatthese proponti-onsarelnct inflexi- 'ble, lhut theycan be varieditosuitthe rcquire- .ments of the case-ans, for instance,if we suppose'thecar-wheeltohe thirtyithree inches in diameter :thewheel E has seventyseved teeth, and if the rear-wheel is thirtysi-xl(36)inches in diameter the wheel E has seventy? teeth, andzsoion inproportion. 'fllheidialezis' about four (4) inches in diameter, andistdi-l vided in -thirtyi(30) .equal parts; and :the rate 1 0f speedthat the car travels-can be (computed -or determined :by observing the{number :of 1' spaces that .the index-hand E travels in a?given;peniod.of ti.mesayiifteenseconds. "llhe numberof spaces thatthe hand Estravelsin fif- :teen seconds denotes themate of speed in miles Theshaft of the gear-wheel G is- :also extended through an opening inithefront wall of thecase A, :and provided with an index hand or pointer, G,that JHOVBS (over a dial, .g,:secu,red lto thercase A, and having :thenamesor znumbersxof ithe streets of a town .or citystamped thereon, ifthe indicator-is aplied ltO a horse-car of a street-railway,.or:thenamesvof stations -or cities :lying on the :route lofastemncar;rail.way-;track. Thisdialghas the proper divisions markedthereon at theproper intervals apart, oraat @oints ithereon which the indicatonhandwill arrive at when rthertrai'n passes agiven-station on :itsflroute.

Efit is deemcd desirable, theindicatorihand i lhiand-the-diahe can=be,,dispensed with when the device is applied to steamrailwayicars as 5it is obvious that the ,speedlof :the .train tcan be reckoned. by therate of movement which ;the:l1and G"traverses over :the dial :but iprefer to employ :the .hand 5E anddial e, :for' the reason that the rateof speed can be more easily and readily computed from the divisionsonthe dial .0, which are placed at further intervals apart, and hence moreeasily discernible, than the divisions on the dial 9, which arenecessarily crowded or contracted, owing to the large number of stationson the route and the space which the proper lettering takes up on theface of the dial.

In indicators that are applied to horse-railway cars I do notcontemplate to apply the hand E and dial a, owing to the frequent number.of stoppages that thecars of this class have to make in taking on andletting off passengers; but it is obvious'thatthe indicators of thisclass of cars may be provided with the speed-indicator hand anddial, ifit-bedeemed desirableor necessary.

I designates the .body .of the car; J, the ,3, the bearing for theax-le,permanently lafli-xed to the car-body; and J, ioneof ithe carwshcelsmounted ,on the axle, all .of which are of the ordinary well-known.class.

K designates an eccentric that is rigidly keyed orotherwise fastened onthe axle J :to .rotatestlmrewith. This eccentric is made intwo.detachablesections, .k, which are rigidly .connectcd atogetherby aJap-joint (shown at Jr in :Fig. 5) and through -ibolts=k,passing throughthe iapped meeting .ends of the sections The inner face .oredge of one.of the-sections is providedwith airey-seat, l, to permit ,akey @to passtherein :to fasten thedevicetost'he axle, andithc :key is preferably ablock of rubber, .or itanay :be theordinary-steel key-pin. At itsperiphery the eccentric is provided with a circumferential groove, m,that provides two aprojecting ribs, .m, atxthe edges of :the eccentric,and-these lni'bsand theigroove form aseat forathe ring 0. This ring ismade in two-deltachahlesections, 0, which are each provided on theirinner ledges withgrooveso', arranged near their sides to form a middleflange or tongue, 1;, and sidelflanges, 1). These (middleiand-sidelflanges areeach curved in cross-section ltO snugly and:closely =fit :the seats in the periphery of theeceentric. Themiddletongue, p, .of the ring tits snuglyand slides withinthe groovemlof -thefeccentric A, and the curved grooveslandzflanges fit "the ribsor'seats m of :theeccentrie, andrthe eccentric is free .to 1:0- datewithzthe axle within the ring to actuate theflatter and connecting--rods tothe worm shaftor cyli-nder Dof the indicator.

illhegrooved ring-0 is seatedor 'fittedsnugl y tolthe seatsof.theeccentric .to exclude dirt, dust, and other :foreign matter, topreventtoo great ifliGhiQIl andwearzbetween the parts,and to furtherreduce the friction and wear :between the opposing faces of the ring andeclcentric, that are .;in.co.ntactwith.each other. I iproviderthe ringwith a :lubricator, P, of any preferred construction, that is adapted todischarger-the :luhricating material between the mingand eccentric. Thesections of the ring sure semicircular in form, and at their .ends

they have outwardly-projecting or angular perforated lugs g, which arebolted securely together, one of the lugs of each section of the ringbeing extended, and having an enlarged headof a movable connecting-rod,R, pivoted therein, so as to adapt the eccentric and its ring to movelaterally independent of the motion of the car-body, while at the sametime the eccentric and ring serve to move the rod longitudinally toactuate the worm shaft or cylinder of the indicator.

The red It is bent or inclined upwardly to bring it close to the body ofthe car, and it passes through and is supported in a guide, 0', which issuspended from the car-body. The forward end of the red It is threadedexteriorly and screwed into a coupling-sleeve, S, and this sleeve isconnected to a threaded arm, 15, ofajoint, T. This joint comprises twopivotally-connected arms, it, that are disposed at right angles to eachother, the vertical arm t being connected to a coupling-sleeve, S,similar to the sleeve S. This coupling-sleeve- S has one end of avertically-disposed connecting-rod, U, screwed therein, and this red isguided in a guide piece or casting, a, affixed to the car, within thebody thereof, and connected at its upper end to the crank-pin of therotating worm shaft or cylinder D, the said upper end of theconnecting-rod being enlarged and provided with an enlarged opening thatfits loosely around the crank-pin, and is prevented from displacementthereon by a nut, o.

The operation of my invention will be readily understood from theforegoing description, taken in connection with the drawings.

It will be observed that my improved indicater can be rcadil y andquickly applied to a railway-ear of any class, and that the eccentric,its ring, and the connecting-rods can be connected to the axle withoutdisturbing the wheels or bearings in any manner; that the stations orthe names and numbers of the streets will be indicated to notifypassengers of their destination; that the speed of a train can bereadily ascertained, and that the apparatus is simple and cheap. Theindicator can also be used in locomotivecabs and in cars propelled byelectricity, as is obvious.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an indicating apparatus for cars, the combination of a detachableeccentric on an axle, a sectional ring seated on the periphery of theeccentric, a connecting-rod, It, pivoted to the ring, a verticalconnecting-rod, U, a joint, T, intermediate of the rods, couplingsbetween the ends of the rods and the joint, guides for the rods securedto the car-body, and an indicator having a worm shaft or cylinder, andgearing actuated by the said wormshaft, substantially as described.

2. In an indicating apparatus for cars, the combination of an eccentricfitted on the axle or shaft, and having the peripheral seats and agroove intermediate of the seats, a sectional ring iitted on theperipheral seats of the eccentric, and having a projecting rib fitted inthe groove of the said eccentric, an indicator, and connectionsintermediate of the sectional ring and the indicator for actuating thelatter, substantially as described.

3. In an indicating apparatus for cars, the combination of a sectionaleccentric adapted to be fitted on an axle or shaft and provided with theprojecting rib seats at its periphery and a groove intermediate of theseats, a sectional ring dctachably and loosely fitted on the eccentric,and having a central rib fitting inthc groove thereof, and the sideflanges, 0, bearing on the projecting ribs, an indicator having aworm-shaft, and connections It U intermediate of the sectional ring andthe worm-shaft of the indicator, substantially as described, for thepurpose set forth.

4. The combination of an inclosingcase having the dial, thevertically-disposed bearing-plates B, inclosed within the case, thejournals 0, also in the case, the worm shaft or cylinder supported inthe journals, and having a collar, (1, and flange d at opposite ends,and the crank-pin D, the gearing journaled in the bearing-plates andactuated by the wormshaft, one of the shafts of the said gear-wheel.having an index or pointer adapted to traverse the dial, an eccentricfitted on an axle or shaft, a ring seated on the eccentric, andconnections intermediate of the ring and the crank-pin of theworm-shaft, all arranged and combined to operate as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRED AUG. SCHMIDT.

.Vitnesses:

J AMES BURK, A. M. ALLEN.

